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VICTORIA — Two 21-year-old women have landed a book deal after writing a book together online in only 18 days. Danielle Bennett, from Victoria, and Jaida Jones, from New York, managed to attract the attention of a major publishing house with a fantasy novel featuring flying metal dragons, magicians and an all-out battle between warring rivals.
"It's still unbelievable," said Ms. Bennett in Victoria, where she grew up. "There are still times when I flip through this book and say, 'Did we write this?' "
The hardcover version of Havemercy will be released across North America this week. The anticipation of the 400-page book hitting store shelves is leaving both authors nervous and excited.
"We're pretty stunned most of the time," said Ms. Jones, who was in Victoria to visit with her co-author and celebrate their accomplishment. "We're keeping our fingers crossed that it will do well."
Authors Danielle Bennett, left, of Victoria, and Jaida Jones, of New York, both 21, met online and started a thread, discussing C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Ms. Jones then asked Ms. Bennett to collaborate on their own novel. (DEDDEDA STEMLER FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
The two met in the spring of 2006 on LiveJournal, a virtual community where users can keep a blog, journal or diary. Ms. Jones, a student living in New York, had started a thread about C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Ms. Bennett responded to the post and the two began a running discussion that lasted for hours. Eventually, Ms. Jones asked for her newfound friend's e-mail address and they started swapping ideas.
They discovered they had similar tastes in literature - both are profoundly fond of the fantasy genre. After several exchanges, Ms. Jones put forward the idea of collaborating on a book. The idea seemed somewhat startling, said Ms. Bennett.
"I had never been able to finish a novel. Writing by myself was not so successful."
The book came together with both women taking turns writing a section. One would write six or seven pages and e-mail it to the other. The recipient would in turn add, edit or expand on the other's contribution. They kept it up for 18 straight days, and the book was finished.
"It was really good to keep up the momentum," Ms. Bennett recalled. "We had lots of energy, so we would just keep going."
The time difference between their two cities, said Ms. Jones, actually helped them out, as each was able to write while the other was at work.
"Every morning, there would be something new," she said. "We didn't really sleep or eat. We just did this, basically."
Their agent tried shopping the book around, but found only rejection. Then, the unthinkable happened; a call came from Random House. With it, came a $30,000 advance for the two - not huge in terms of dollars and cents, but significant for the authors.
"It was unbelievable," Ms. Bennett said, giggling. "I did a little dance around the kitchen and called everyone I knew."
"I burst into tears," said Ms. Jones, who received the good news while at a school study group. "They all thought something was wrong with me."
While getting the call was a surprise for the women, the woman who signed them said it shouldn't be.
"It absolutely captivated me," said Anne Groell, senior editor of Spectra, the science-fiction imprint of Random House's Bantam Dell Publishing Group that has secured world rights to the book in English.
"It really kind of knocked my socks off."
Ms. Groell said she receives between 300 and 400 manuscripts a year. Typically, she said, only three or four new authors each year will receive any kind of offer for publication, meaning a submission must be something exceptional in order to end up on store shelves.
Havemercy turned out to be a real page-turner, something a polished and published writer would dream of. But these were first-time authors, with no real experience.
"They managed to create something special," Ms. Groell said.
What they've managed to do is reach a milestone in a most unconventional fashion, said Robert J. Wiersema, author of the best-selling Before I Wake and a book reviewer for The Globe and Mail.
"As far as I know, it's unprecedented, especially given the circumstances and the distance," said Mr. Wiersema, who is also a book promoter for Victoria-based Bolen Books. Mr. Wiersema said the fantasy genre is underserved in Canada, and even though the authors have signed on with an American publishing house, it's impressive to see a Canadian land a deal with this publisher.
"They are well-respected publishing lines."
Spectra also publishes one of the young women's heroes, Ellen Kushner, whose award-winning mythical tales of sword-fighting and medieval battles have sold thousands of copies and have been translated into several languages.
The pair said their love of Ms. Kushner's writing helped them bond, and in turn, inspired their own characters.
Havemercy, which is the name of one of the flying, magic-fuelled, metal dragons in the book, is written from four vantage points.
The story is told through the thoughts and words of Rook, a dragon-flier; Thom, who instructs the pilots; Royston, a magician; and Hal, a lonesome and naïve tutor.
The four are based in Volstov, which Ms. Bennett said is inspired by 18th-century Russia, which is fighting the soldiers of Ke-Han, inspired by Genghis Khan's Mongolian Hordes.
Ms. Groell, a 15-year veteran of the publishing industry, said she was blown away by the pair's ability to craft such strong characters. "Each character had such a distinct voice."
While the new authors will have some time to celebrate their success, it will be limited. The sequel has to be finished by Aug. 1, and with several dozen pages yet to be written, the two are feeling a bit of pressure.
But with a deal reached with a Russian distributor, and the possibility of sales in other languages, the future seems very positive for this pair.
"We're still in a bit of shock," Ms. Bennett said. "It's still a little unbelievable ... but we're really proud."
